In computer systems, there is a system that designates a system administrator, and regulates users that execute system functions such that only the administrator can execute certain processes. For instance, a special user known as a system administrator is declared, and authority to execute functions related to system administration is only assigned to the system administrator. In this case, only a user that is recognized to be the system administrator through a user authentication process can execute functions related to system administration.
In general, a user is made to input a user name and password for the authentication process when a system is used interactively and the system then determines the validity of the user. In other words, if the input user name and password matches the user name and password of the system administrator, the user is recognized as a system administrator.
On the other hand, there are cases where functions must be non-interactively executed. For instance, the acquiring of regular operation logs etc must be carried out automatically without relying on user operation. In this case, since a user can not input the user name or password, a system will be required that determines, through other means, which user authorities will be used to execute a function.
According to the method described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-259426, an operation method to set a start-up user, which determines which application is executed by what user authority, will be needed. For example, if an application is to be executed using system administration authority, the system administrator must be set as a start-up when installing the application. In this way, there is a problem when using an application in that a significant amount of time is taken to carry out installation of the application, since setting operation of a start-up user of the application is required when installing the application.